Eminem has revealed that he’s “always been chasing” the success and creative streak he enjoyed on ‘The Marshall Mathers LP’ with each subsequent release.
Released in May 2000, the Detroit rapper’s third album featured such tracks as ‘Stan’, ‘The Way I Am’ and ‘The Real Slim Shady’. The record has sold over 35 million copies worldwide.
- READ MORE: “Hi, my name is…” – 20 years of Eminem’s ‘The Slim Shady LP’ as told by those who were there
Speaking in a new virtual reality interview titled Marshall From Detroit (which is available to view on Oculus Go, Rift and Gear VR devices), interviewer and radio host Sway Calloway asked Eminem about the latter’s quest for “that perfect verse” and whether he’d ever succeeded in finding it.
“Ima keep it 100% honest: I feel like, and I’ve felt like this for a long time – I’ve always been chasing ‘The Marshall Mathers LP’,” Eminem said. “Because I know that captured a moment, you know what I’m saying? It’s kind of like a time capsule, when I look back at it. The times that it was back then and the turmoil in my life that was happening.
“Shit was happening so fast and spiralling out of control. I had a lot of rage,” he added. “When people say they miss the old Eminem, I feel like it’s probably that. You miss the rage. I don’t have the rage anymore that I used to have but I still have the exact same passion. Sometimes it doesn’t always come out the right way, and it’s like: ‘What the fuck is that? Take a pause, man.’
“I don’t know who I’m competing with, but I just wanna be… there’s a lot of great rappers and artists coming up in this generation now. And I’m watching it, and I’m loving it, and the competitive spirit in me wants to keep up with the best of the best.”
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This week, Eminem reissued ‘The Slim Shady LP’ to mark the twentieth anniversary of its release.